Just chillin'

After all of yesterday's festivities, Tess is enjoying a relaxing day playing with all of her new loot. Right now, she is taking a break and watching some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with some of her new pals. Life is good.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Tess had a great day today. Santa was soooo good to her! Almost too good. Don't tell Tess, but tonight we even discussed taking back a few of the gifts (the ones that were tossed aside, of course) until Tess' second birthday.*

As always, Tess sends her love to all her fans and looks forward to ringing in the new year with Grandpa and Grandma Tillman and Uncle Mark next week!

* Question: Does it count as regifting if it is gifted back to the same person?! Even if that person is too small to notice?? I may need to write in to Miss. Manners to inquire.

Here is a recap of the Christmas events!

All dolled up for Christmas Eve mass

Hanging out with Uncle Mike who just flew in Getting the hang of opening presents on Christmas morning Tess jamming to her new Elmo toy

Tess and Norms taking a rest on the way to Grandpa and Grandma Cushman's house
Special present from Great Grandma
Tess and her beloved new Abby Cadabby

Tess with Great Grandma

Tess with Meena and Papa

Tess with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Cushman

Tess and cousin Ella (or as Tess says, "Ewwa")

Norman Nanny-Cam Video: Here is a funny outtake video where I thought I was taking a picture of Tess on her new bike, but really I was in video mode. So there is a quick peek of Tess on the bike and then I put the camera down... now we get to see what Norman really does when no one is watching. He obviously had no trouble making his own fun on Christmas morning. Good thing we weren't planning to return whatever came in the box.

Santa = Even scarier this year

If you are able to recall Tess' Santa experience last year (if not, look here), she was pretty unhappy, but was able to fight off the tears. We weren't so lucky this year. She got pretty upset the moment she hit his lap. From a distance, she was okay, but then freaked out. Although she must not have despised him too much as she still blew him a kiss goodbye.

And not to knock Santa (because who would be silly enough to do that THIS time of year?!), but you'll notice that last year's Santa looked a lot better too. PSA: All Santas are not the same. To gain access to last year's Super Swanky Santa, we had to jump through about 79 hoops. (To make a long story short, we had to make an appointment to see him. Yes, really.) Knowing that Tess was probably going to have a Santa-'tude, we settled for the less-than-super Santa. Not such a bad decision given our elevated Santa-aversion this year.

Getting ready for "Sansa"

Tess got all dolled up tonight for a little Christmas party with her parenting group buddies, so we thought we'd take a few pictures in front of our festive decorations. Tess was also proud to show off her new stocking - which she hasn't really noticed yet, surprisingly. Probably because she's too busy dissecting the lower half of the Christmas tree. Give it time.

A cheeky wee thing

Tess is getting too big for her britches already. She thinks that she has outsmarted us all and is now calling me (formerly known as "Mama") by my first name. Yes, that's right. Grandma Geraldine is staying with us for a few days and naturally, called me by my first name tonight - only for it to be immediately repeated by little Miss. You-Know-Who. So tonight, when it was time for bed, Grandma told Tess to say goodnight to Mama and here is what she came back with:

(Note that she says goodnight to Norman first)

Shout out to Uncle Mike

Tess wanted to send a shout out to her Uncle Mike. He moved to Florida just before Halloween and she misses him! We are going to go see him in January (although we'll see him before that at Christmas). Anyway, Uncle Mike is also a blogger and he just started his blog back up, so Tess decided to give him a free plug here on her blog that is read by millions everyday. She also wanted to send Uncle Mike this special picture that can be their special inside joke to enjoy (even though Uncle Mike doesn't truly enjoy it like we all do!).

Two little elves

These two little elves are getting into the holiday spirit. Enjoy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tess sends her love on this Thanksgiving day! She is thankful for everyone that loves her!

And a cute video:

Baby, it's gettin' cold outside!

Tess and her buds, Avery and Matthew, got together yesterday to catch up, eat some snacks and make a mess with toys. Mission accomplished! Though I couldn't help but be sad about how quickly their wardrobes have changed from t-shirts and shorts to coats and snowpants! What happened?! At least they look cute in their hats. That's all that really matters anyway.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Tess was ecstatic to hear that Grandma wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate her birthday! (Her 35th birthday, of course.) Tess had a good time riding some of the rides and trying to shoot baskets. The highlight of the night was when she spotted a hidden, displaced basketball underneath one of the booths. What a find! She was also pretty psyched when Uncle Brendan walked in with a huge Elmo balloon and an Elmo t-shirt for Tess.

Whose birthday was it again?!

Tess and the Guest of Honor

Tess and the Second Guest of Honor
Tess riding the "horseeeee"

Lots of smiles!
Grandma x 2

Tess and Papa patting the tables in unison

Happy Halloween!

Tess had a good time trick-or-treating on Halloween this year! She made it all the way down our block and back again. She did pretty good, except for when we were on a neighbor's porch and she started to pull down her tutu claiming she was "all done!" Luckily, we managed to put a stop to that before she fully disrobed.

Here are some pictures of all the fun!

Two little bees

One annoyed bee and one REALLY annoyed bee

Two little bee-hinds

Tess' main bee

Tess and scary Frankenstein

Tess being a sneaky bee and trick or treating at her own house. Thanks, Grandma! (And no, we didn't gate Grandma into the house. It was so Norman didn't escape with trick or treaters)

Tess and Dad's pumpkin masterpiece

Tess' first time trick or treating!

Tess went trick or treating for the first time today! At her sitter's house, they went around to a few houses today. Typically, Monday isn't Tess' day at the sitter, but we made a special trip over there so Tess could participate. So fun! She wasn't too sure what was going on, but as soon as someone put some candy in her bag, she was hooked.

Skeptical Tess
Tess and the gang at the first house.
House #2. The Lil Bee is pushed to the back of the line! What nerve!
Skeptical Tess no more.

House #3. Tess is getting the hang of it.

The gang and "B"!

Halloween preview

Tess is giving her bloggers a special sneak peek preview of her Halloween costume! It's pretty cute!

The only pic you'll see of the cursed headband. Tess hates it! (although she is doing a nice job of faking it here)

At the Greenfield Village "Hallowe'en"

"Who needs candy when there are apples?!"

Tess and Dad making eyes at each other

Tess and Mom ready for more spooky fun

Ooooh! The Headless Horseman! Can you see him?!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is Dad's birthday! We hope that you have a great day. We love you!

Tess says, "My dad is HOW old?!?"

Pumpkin Time!

Today was a good fall day to go to the pumpkin patch. Tess seemed to have a pretty good time. She found herself a cute little pumpkin and enjoyed playing keep away from Mom and Dad in and out of the rows of pumpkins and flowers. It's hard to believe that summer is really over!

This is going to be difficult. There are so many!!

Where is my pumpkin?

Peek-a-boo!

Oh, I like this one!

Now why won't that piece of straw just leave me alone?!

Yep, this is definitely the one.

What do you think?

Okay, now that I have my pumpkin, we can play you chase me around the patch...

Wait! I think I found a new one! Just kidding - I see a little bird.

The finished product!